Izzy Vega

Izzy Vega grew up as a normal child, for the most part. Her family owned a small ranch, and they spent their days tending to the animals. When selling their wares in a street market, her father was robbed and shot for the little money he had on him, in broad daylight. Izzy, fearing for her own life, fled the scene, and found herself lost in an unfamiliar city. Ten years old and with no concept of how to get home, she wandered further and further away. 

 

Scared, alone, and without anything to her name, she fell in with a local gang who had taken notice of the child pick-pocketing one of their members for money for food. Los Sombra Lobos trained her in their own shifting ability, something she took to very easily. With the Sombra Lobos she learned a lot of life skills, like how to steal a car, pick locks, how to pick-pocket tourists, and sell drugs, she'd found a life she was good at, and people who accepted her for what she was, who would take care of her. Or so she thought.

 

Soon, they had grown their territory, their strength as a pack, with Izzy shaping up to be one of their leaders. Then, one night, she found Carlito dead at home, his throat ripped out by a wolf's fangs. Izzy went to the second in command for help, but he turned her away. Enraged, afraid, and reliving one of her worst nightmares, Izzy snapped.

 

Izzy woke up, wounded and sore, surrounded by the eviscerated bodies of some of her own pack. She took off yet again, horrified by what she had done, and fearing for her life. Taking the lives of her own pack was a death sentence. She headed for the border and didn't stop, crossing in the form of a wolf, and staying away from cities until she was far enough away that she felt safe. She knew that eventually someone would come for her, but the further north she got, the safer she felt.

 

She lived mostly in the densely wooded areas throughout summer, thinking of it as an extended camping trip, and strayed into the city between for food and money, and occasionally a shower.. but her first Winter in the North has her bound to a Chicago motel. She purchased an identity off her meager earnings during her travels and does her best to blend in, be normal, and avoid too much attention.